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“Thanks, Lil. It means a lot.”
“I’m sure you’re both going to be very happy.”
“Thanks. That’s kind of you. I was sorry to hear about Ian, though.”
“Yeah.”
“Paul wasn’t though. He was pretty happy about it.”
I forget that Paul and Adam still occasionally meet for drinks. It’s probably why Theo was out of the loop – his crowd is in London now.
“Yeah, and I hear he’s just split up with someone.”
“Oh, it wasn’t serious,” he laughs it off, “just a bit of fun. I don’t know what you’ve heard, but they parted amicably. She sort of found out about his trip and said it was time they went their separate ways.”
“So he hasn’t mentioned anything about me?” I feel my nerves tingling, my face tightening.
“You didn’t?” He looks genuinely shocked.
I think I’ve given myself away.
“Didn’t what?”
“You and him, you bloody—”
“Shut the fuck up, so he didn’t say anything?”
“No, but your face says it all. I knew there had always been sparks, but…”
“You cannot tell anyone, okay? It’s not even… we’re not… you mustn’t say anything to anyone.”
He cocks an eyebrow. “Susan already spotted that connection between you two. I swear, I’ll only tell her, but we’ll keep it between ourselves.”
I try to catch my breath but feel weird about it all.
“I suppose I’d better mingle with the evening guests,” he says, “but we’re so happy you could come, really!”
He hugs me really tight, but before he moves off, he leans down to whisper in my ear, “Look how happy I am because I escaped the club, maybe you should, too. I love Paul, but he’s a mess, babe. Save yourself.”
He gives me one last kiss on the cheek and he’s gone.
I look around the room and see Marie and Sass still on the dancefloor with their partners. Looks like I’m alone again. I scan further and catch Paul standing with his back to the bar, eyes zeroing in on me. Almost like a tractor beam, he draws me in and I walk to where he is.
“Need another drink?” He puts his arm around me and we watch the revellers.
“No, I’m good.”
“Mum’s already tucked up in bed, had enough. Someone gave her a shot of something and it knocked her out.”
I chuckle softly. “Sounds about right.”
“What was Adam saying then?”
“Oh,” I laugh, “he told me to stay away from you, says you’re a mess.”
“What the fuck does he know? How does he know?” He turns to me with an embarrassed look.
“He figured it out. He’s not stupid. Nobody stupid would land Susan. She’s incredibly intuitive, you know. She even knows we hate her.”
